Apr 15, 2018
Apr 13, 2018
Exclusive Song Premiere: Charlie Overbey w/Eleanor Whitmore "Trouble Likes Me Best"
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| Photo by Chris Phelps |
Here's a great new song from Charlie Overbey, a Californian with a southern soul. It's an anthemic mid-tempo country tune about …well, getting in trouble. What's more country than that? Joining Charlie with some great backing vocals is Eleanor Whitmore. I don't want to call it an outlaw song, but it certainly dabbles in the habits and misfortunes of that brand of country. Definitely a great Friday tune and a solid introduction to his forthcoming album, Broken Arrow. Give it a listen!
From Charlie:
"Trouble Likes Me Best" was written about a combo of truths from a trip to the county jail in Nashville to witnessing a couple of stoned young ladies driving onto the highway off-ramp in Los Angeles, CA.
David Allan Coe once said to me while touring together, “I shoulda written that fuckin’ song~!“
But my favorite is that my father used to say, “That’s the best song you ever wrote, son. Who wrote that?”
More information after the song player!
"Written as a kind of last will and testament, Overbey inhabits his friend's psyche to celebrate his life with thrilling glee" - LA TIMES
“Country folk rock that packs a gritty emotional punch." - Cowboys & Indians
"This well-traveled troubadour gets our attention with a gruff vocal style whose undertone says, ‘I’ve lived it, I’ve been there.’” - Music Connection
“Overbey has the songcraft to turn his anecdotes and observations into engaging songs that are by turns melodically hooky and lyrically genuine.” - Music Connection
“L.A. rock veteran Charlie Overbey is creating quite a buzz with his brand of California alt-country.” - Amazon.com
“Charlie spent years evolving as a musician, from Sunset Strip band Big Bang Babies to cowpunks Custom Made Scare to Deadbolt and Charlie & the Valentine Killers. Now he’s emerged—not entirely unscathed—as a pretty serious songwriter.” - Little Brother Music
“A staple of the Los Angeles music scene.” - Echo Park Rising
“Overbey has been writing songs for years that hit listeners with raw emotion.” - The Coachella Valley Independent
“Captivating. Overbey’s songwriting takes you on a musical journey filled with emotion and vivid imagery. He lands himself right next to some great singer/songwriters like Tom Petty, Jackson Browne & Bruce Springsteen.” - Music Junkie Press
“Uptempo twang. California to the core.” - Monterey County Weekly
“Wearing Willie Nelson’s braids, holding his guitar low and approaching his songs with some Springsteen muscle. … an energetic ballet of layered guitars with plenty of heartbreak, setbacks, tattoos & whiskey.” - Rock NYC
“A hard-rocking classic-country sound, soulful lyrics and a bit of twang on the side - Rock NYC
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CHARLIE OVERBEY -- BROKEN ARROW
Charlie Overbey may be a lifelong Californian, but his songs are steeped in the timeless traditions of the American South. After years of touring the world supporting acts ranging from David Allan Coe and Blackberry Smoke to Social Distortion and Motorhead, Overbey slowly amassed a collection of introspective original songs that transcend the endless rock & roll party, taking a stark, undeniably honest look at some of life’s most gritty moments. The result is Charlie Overbey’s new LP, Broken Arrow.
A triumphant collection of road-hardened alt-country tunes born of Overbey’s upbringing in what he calls “the school and church of Johnny Cash,” Broken Arrow features guest appearances from The Mastersons (who also play in Steve Earle's band The Dukes), Miranda Lee Richards (who sings on duet single “Slip Away”) and Eddie Spaghetti of the Supersuckers, and was produced by Ted Hutt who recently won a Grammy for his work with Old Crow Medicine Show, and has helmed multiple albums by Lucero, The Gaslight Anthem, Dropkick Murphys and many more.
“I’ve never worked with anybody like Ted,” Overbey says, reflecting on the sessions. “This is the first time I’ve ever let go and trusted somebody else as a partner in my songs. He really pulled some stuff out of me that I had not planned on delivering. Honestly, these songs can be hard for me to sing—they come from a deep, real and sometimes dark place.”
Self-aware and introspective without relying on played-out tropes of love and loss, Overbey’s songwriting is genuine, fearless and visceral. Authentic, reverb-drenched ‘70s-channeling album opener “Slip Away” gets right at the heart of life’s darkness, chronicling the heart-wrenching suicide of a young girl. Accompanied by wailing pedal steel and the haunting harmonies of Miranda Lee Richards, the song sets a tone of somber acceptance in the face of mortality.
“The Ballad of Eddie Spaghetti”—featuring a guest appearance from its namesake—also addresses mortality, though from a different perspective, confronting Spaghetti’s recent struggles with cancer. While the refrain, “If I die at 47, if I die before my time / Will they drag me up to heaven or deliver me to Hell in my prime” might read as a last will & testament, the soaring vocals and upbeat tempo elevate it to an awe-inspiring, fist-pumping battle cry. As Overbey sees it, “You gotta step up and kick life’s ass sometimes.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Overbey was exposed to country music early and often. It wasn’t something he sought out on his own—his father owned a 1947 Gibson J-45 acoustic guitar, and almost every time it was played, out spilled a Johnny Cash song. Overbey recalls these times fondly and admits they shaped his musical growth, though it took years of punk-rock rebellion before he’d come to appreciate the genre’s influence on him. “When you’re raised, and it’s all around you,” he says, “it’s the last thing you want to be a part of.”
Overbey’s first success in the music industry came when his cowpunk outfit Custom Made Scare landed a deal with Side One Dummy Records in 1998. But before the band’s debut album dropped, Overbey went on the run from the law for months, finally turning himself in and spending a year in prison. The very same week he was released, the band hit the road immediately, and toured heavily into the new millennium alongside seminal punk acts such as Suicidal Tendencies, Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Zeke and REO Speedealer.
A side project of Overbey’s called Charlie & The Valentine Killers also toured in the late 2000s with David Allan Coe and Lemmy's side outfit The Headcat. “It was still days of angst,” Overbey says, but the country-leaning project’s sound served as an important precursor to his current solo work backed by the Broken Arrows.
Looking ahead to the April 2018 release of Broken Arrow, Overbey is gearing up to hit the road with a vengeance for the first time in years. He and the band are already working on songs for a follow-up record that will draw from the same rich vein as Broken Arrow. Overbey isn’t one for idle hands—when he isn’t playing or writing, Charlie has become a well-known name in the fashion world with his one-of-a-kind, hand-shaped Lone Hawk Hats, for devotees in the Americana scene, including the camps of Blackberry Smoke, Miranda Lambert, Lucero, the Foo Fighters, Dwight Yoakam, Cage The Elephant, Kaleo, and Miley Cyrus. Lone Hawk Hats were even the focus point in a recent Stella McCartney campaign. It’s a craft Overbey taught himself by trial and error, ultimately carrying with it the same authenticity and attention to detail you’ll find in his songwriting. They are available at several high-end locations, including he and his lady's brick-and-mortar shop Honeywood Vintage / Lone Hawk Hats on ultra hip York Blvd in Highland Park, Los Angeles.
As the album title suggests, an existential darkness permeates Broken Arrow. It is the work of a road-savvy rock & roll veteran who sees the world as it is, fully grasping the jagged pain of life. But this darkness isn’t a dead end—Overbey’s songs are shot through with enough hard-fought resilience, determination and optimism to remind listeners the only way out is forward, and that the wild ride of life is a mysterious and beautiful gift.
Apr 12, 2018
The No Sleep Round-up w/Lucero, Western Centuries, and ...Cardi B?
by Robert Dean
Well, howdy folks. I had one of them weeks last week that would test a lesser man’s mettle and sent them spiraling down the road toward their local dive without so much as a breath of fresh air. I ain’t gonna say I didn’t need a night to get loaded up on the Lone Star beers and some kush that’ll blow the doors off, but I’m back in fighting shape after a few kicks in the teeth.
I’m gonna write some longer stuff for the site, so if you’re waiting on anything long form from me, it’s gonna happen soon.
This brings us back to the rodeo and what’s popping off this week and last week: a combo of musical stuff that’s crossed my desk.
Cardi B dropped a new record, “Invasion of Privacy” last week. I gotta say, for as much shit as she gets, I like her. We’re beaten over the head with manufactured idiots that have nothing to say, and for once we’ve got someone in popular culture that’s being honest about her experience and what she expects of the world in return.
Sure, you don’t have to enjoy the music, but when we’re overloaded with constant trash, I can respect someone’s nerve to tell the story of being a stripper, what men in the business expect of her, along with building a career with no one’s help. As someone’s who’s never been handed a damn thing, career-wise if you make it without daddy’s money or a cousin in “the business” props to her.
Read the new GQ interview with her. You’ll come out of it not hating her, I promise. Also, reading the bit about how she got a fake ass is fascinating.
Side note related to Cardi B – I’ve recently discovered Migos Stir Fry and I love the beat. Not a new cut by any means, but for someone who doesn’t dig Trap, I like that one. Takashi 69 is still straight garbage, tho. But this Gary Owen takedown is straight up amazing.
Back to country stuff, Western Centuries has recently dropped Songs From The Deluge, and it’s pretty damn solid. If you’re looking for a good honky tonk record that feels a little Dale Watson meets Dwight Yoakam, Western Centuries play in that cerebral ballpark. The vocals even offer a little John Popper vibe, but without the wailing harmonica theatrics.
Sometimes, when bands try to pull off that joint beer funk, most of the time, they screw it way, way up. Western Centuries doesn’t do that whatsoever; in fact, they sell it with precision and flair. Upon first listen, I was flabbergasted the band was from Seattle and not my backyard of Austin. Give these dudes a listen ASAP. You won’t be disappointed.
In news that warms my heart, Lucero was recently awarded the honor of Lucero Day in Memphis. How dope is that? Resident good dudes getting rewarded for being a great band full of humans that deserve the world. Nothing but respect.
Once again, don’t forget to donate to Caleb from Cave In’s YouCaring. It’s still such a bummer he’s gone.
Avenged Sevenfold read mean tweets about themselves. Just like their music, it was uninteresting and pedestrian. Watch it here.
That’s about it from down here in the great state of Texas. Be back next week to talk about whatever crosses my desk or invades my inbox. If you’re in a band, go to my Facebook page www.facebook.com/robertdeansworld and drop a link.
If it’s in my sonic wheelhouse I’ll either review it or mention it here. Depends on how dope it is. All genres will be considered. Stay frosty.
Forrest Gump Country Reaction Gifs
Ashley McBryde is playing in town?
"Hey Lt. Dan! Wanna hear my new Florida-Georgia Line CD?"
When you see her wearing a Tyler Childers shirt
and a Cody Jinks hat
"or is he... a Kane Brown fan?"
"Hey, I've got an extra ticket to Walker Hayes, wanna go?"
When Stapleton goes out for a jog
When Bebe Rexha comes on the ACM Awards Sunday
[the house is country radio]
Apr 11, 2018
Exclusive Single Premiere: Buffalo Gospel "High Time to Hang Fire"
Today we've got the exclusive introduction to the new single by a Farce favorite, Buffalo Gospel. From their upcoming release, On the First Bell, it's a plaintive ballad called "High Time to Hang Fire" that laments the loss of a good friend. Steel guitar sets the mood and Ryan Necci's soulful vocals tell the tale. Falling somewhere between tear in your beer country and classic R&B, the song brings wrenching emotion to the smoky barroom. It's an impressive welcome back for Buffalo Gospel.
From the band:
We’ve experienced a lot of loss over the last decade or so. Relatives, friends, wives and bandmates. By no means are we the only ones who have had to struggle with loss, but in the proud tradition of country and western music, we write about the truth — about our truths. After all, that’s what ‘gospel’ means. We wrote these songs in the hopes that they could provide some relief and some comfort to others. There is strength in numbers and knowing you’re not alone when things get dark can be incredibly powerful.
Loss often comes without warning and that’s what makes it so crushing. ‘High Time to Hang Fire’ is a belated goodbye letter to a close friend. We always think we'll have more time to tell our loved ones the things we want to — to tell them what they’d meant to us. We see their fight with mortality and we want so desperately to let them know that there is no shame in resting easy. One last goodbye, a little too late.
More information about Buffalo Gospel's forthcoming album, On the First Bell, below the song player. It's out May 4th.
Buffalo Gospel to Release Long Awaited Second Full-Length Album
Milwaukee, WI - Critically acclaimed, Milwaukee-based, Country/Americana group, Buffalo Gospel, have announced the release date of their long-awaited second full-length album entitled On the First Bell on May 4, 2018.
On the First Bell was recorded under the mastery of Grammy award-winning engineer, Brian Joseph, who credits include Bon Iver, Sufjan Stevens, and the Indigo Girls, at The Hive outside Eau Claire, Wisconsin
On the process of creating On the First Bell, Lead Vocalist and Guitarist Ryan Necci said
“It's the first time we've left the city to make a record and it really had a profound, positive effect on the work. No distractions, no egos. We were able to focus solely on serving the songs and we're incredibly happy and proud of the results.”
On the First Bell is the follow up to Buffalo Gospel’s 2013 We Can Be Horses, which was described as “minimalist and masterful,” “musically arresting,” and “Milwaukee’s Best Kept Secret.” The band have scheduled an album release celebration show to showcase their new material, as well as old favorites, at Anodyne Coffee Roasting Company in Milwaukee with Joseph Huber in support.
Buffalo Gospel delivers hopped up trucker country and breathtakingly honest ballads through a virtual “who’s-who” of crack Midwestern musicians including, (Ryan Necci, Lead Vocals/Guitar) Kevin Rowe (Bass), Nick Lang (Percussion), Michael Rossetto (Multi-Instrumentalist), and Andrew Koenig (Guitar). Buffalo Gospel begins their tour in support of On the First Bell April 13, 2018, at the Midwest Music Fest in LaCrosse, WI.
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